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The Emperor’s Magic Beans

Two cases of star gazing paint a fairly vivid picture of just how far into the lunacy lair our fair country’s leaders have wandered. First up, how about a little rehashed chatter of imperial ecstasy to kick off The One’s would-be penultimate term:

New York Democratic Rep. Jose Serrano reintroduced a bill in Congress on Friday to repeal the 22nd Amendment, which places term limits on the U.S. presidency.

The bill, which has been referred to committee, would allow Barack President Obama to become the first president since Franklin Roosevelt to seek a third term in office.

H.J. Res. 15 proposes “an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President.”

So long as we’re dreaming big, there’s also want of a trillion-dollar acorn. They’re calling it a coin, but really why not an acorn, or poker chip, or slice of dried apricot? Magic beans, anyone?

Paul Krugman, the liberal economist who pens a widely read column for the New York Times, on Monday joined the calls for the U.S. to mint a $1 trillion platinum coin as a way around the debt ceiling.

The idea is that the treasury secretary can take advantage of a loophole allowing him to mint a platinum coin of any denomination. Print a $1 trillion coin, and — presto — there’s a $1 trillion in spare capacity under the debt ceiling. Plus, since the coin isn’t going to make it into circulation, it should not be inflationary. And further, it still leaves Congress in control of the purse.

“It’s easy to make sententious remarks to the effect that we shouldn’t look for gimmicks, we should sit down like serious people and deal with our problems realistically. That may sound reasonable — if you’ve been living in a cave for the past four years. Given the realities of our political situation, and in particular the mixture of ruthlessness and craziness that now characterizes House Republicans, it’s just ridiculous — far more ridiculous than the notion of the coin,” Krugman writes.

Krugman isn’t alone – as of Monday morning, there were over 4,000 signatures on a White House petition to do the same.

I’d like to believe the chances of such full moonbattery being approved are DOA, but we live in strange and unsettling times. One in which a literal golden goose-egg economy and lifetime emperor-in-chief seem a surreal none-too-unnatural fit.

Bonus Round: from Kayser Sosa, who appropriately inquires ~

Somebody had to ask, so why not me?

If the Treasury can mint a $1 trillion coin to pay debt (or other spending needs)…

WHY ARE WE PAYING TAXES??

Why, indeed.

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